I went to a new dentist today (I moved four years ago and hadn't arranged for a new dentist until now), and the dentist began lecturing me on how to properly brush and floss, as he said I had what looked like several days worth of plaque near my gum line on my side/back teeth, and a tiny area on one bottom tooth that might turn into a cavity (so I have to have it sealed). He also told me the gums in these same side/back areas looked slightly irritated (I hadn't noticed any discomfort before but he did a great deal of scraping near the gum line and it still hurts). He went on about how if I didn't start brushing/flossing properly then the plaque build-up could eventually turn into some serious problems causing my teeth to begin crumbling/decaying. I scheduled my cleaning (this was just a new patient exam) and was almost crying when I left (I had asked if I was extremely careful if I could avoid having these potential problems and he seemed very gloomy saying "well if you're absolutely religious and change your habits then you might be able to prevent 99% of the problems").

The problem is, I have always been extremely careful about brushing well with an electric toothbrush after meals, and flossing at least 1-2 times a day. I've never had cavities of any kind, and at all of my twice yearly cleanings at other dentists (I'm 24 years old, my last dental exam/cleaning was 4 years ago), they've always commented on how excellent my teeth are.

My question is: is it possible that something has changed (my eating habits/hygiene haven't) to make me suddenly more prone to plaque building up? I asked the dentist if something else could be causing the problem (telling him that I'm very careful about my oral hygiene and have never been told I have problems with plaque before), but he was adamant that I just "must not be brushing and flossing as well as you think". If I thought this was the real reason I wouldn't have a problem with it, but it just seemed extremely odd; I would have thought if I had been doing these things ineffectively for the past 18-20 years, and if those habits were the culprit, that I would have shown signs of this much earlier in life, rather than just now. I don't deny there is some issue now (I just never noticed in the past 4 years) but I'm afraid that if I'm already doing things right that the problem isn't what the dentist is insisting it is. For the time being (I have 3 weeks until my appointment) I've decided to use a waterpik, and a Sonicare toothbrush to try and be extra careful with my teeth. But is it possible that something else is wrong? Or is it perhaps just because I haven't had a really deep cleaning at a dentist in 4 years? I'm extremely nervous now because I felt as though the dentist didn't believe me when I said I did brush/floss, and it made me afraid that something could be wrong and they won't catch it because they just believe I don't know how to brush my teeth.

I apologize for sounding extremely paranoid, but my mother has horrible teeth problems because her family couldn't afford dental work when she was little, and I'm terrified of having anything similar happen.

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